Why is she doing this?!

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AnnieMarie

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I adopted my guinea pig, Feebee, from a local pet store about a year ago. Lately, I had started reading and noticed that it is better to have 2 guinea pigs than one. With that said, I decided to start looking for another guinea pig. I posted an ad on Craigslist stating that I was willing to take an unwanted female guinea pig into my home, since mine is female and I don't want any babies, lol.

Well, I introduced them to each other a few nights ago into their animal playpen. All was well and they were sniffing each other's butts and whatnot. Then, I made a big mistake and put them into the cage together after about 30 minutes, they fought, I brought them out, immediately put them back in the pen, and once again, they were expressing normal behaviors such as nibbling, chasing each other, etc.

They have been in the same cage for about 3-4 nights now and I am somewhat concerned. My newest guinea pig, a 2 1/2 year old female, keeps biting at my other guinea pig (this usually happens in the playpen as opposed to the cage). She also keeps chasing her around and biting her fur out, then proceeding to eat the fur (once again, normally happens in the playpen). My guinea pig acts like it wants to play, but she keeps nipping at her, and of course, my guinea pig runs from it.

How can I stop this behavior? Should I stop it? Or is this a normal dominance issue?
 
:) Few things to cover (please dont be offended, just all the information will help us determine what can be done to help)

How big is the cage they share?

Was it thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before they were put in it for the first time?

Have you tried a bonding bath yet?

:)
 
No offense taken! I am a newbie when it comes to guinea pigs, so I've probably messed up in a few areas.

This is the cage I have:
http://www.petco.com/product/10638/Super-Pet-Extra-Large-My-First-Home.aspx

(However, I get paid today, and I plan on beginning the process of building a C&C cage so they have more room to run and play)

And no, it wasn't. I had cleaned the cage a couple days before she came in, and my oldest guinea pig, Feebee, had already been in there. Is it too late to clean it?

And what's a bonding bath? LOL. Sorry, I am so new at this. I have already given Keekee her first bath, because she smelled so much like a pet shop when I first got her (where she came from a breeder)
 
i think the problem is they are both adults, would of been much easier if taking a baby pig to your. now though i would keep them in two cages, let them meet on neutral ground more and more over about a week. then clean the cage properly (as much as it takes to kill the scent of the guinea pig living in the cage they'll live in) and then see how they go on. guinea pigs are terratorial esp to other adult pigs so important to keep in mind that some fighting is bound to happen but within reason and not so one of them gets hurt.
 
some also suggested to bath both with same cleaning shampoo so they smell a bit like each other. never needed it myself but could be worth a try.
 
That cage, although not being AWFULL is definatly not big enough for two piggies long term. I see you are in the us, but here in the UK we have something called the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), they recoment a cage for two piggies being no smaller than 120cmsx60cms

This will probably not help the bonding, so putting a rush on the C&C would be good if you can. :)

When bonding piggies it is very important that they go into neuteral terratory, her cage will have smelled of your original piggy, so no neuteral.

No, it is not too late, it would be really good if you could do the bonding bath THEN put them in a neuteral cage. Making it neuteral- it would be best if you clean it out, but also disinfect with your usual pet safe disinfectant.

A bonding bath, is litteraly, bathing them together. Although do be carefull and have someone else help if you can because some piggies dont like being bathed. Bath them in the same shampoo, they will then both smell the came and bond over the fear of being bathed.

Have they drawn blood? (it didnt sound like it from your previous post, but i wanted to check)
 
AnnieMarie said:
No offense taken! I am a newbie when it comes to guinea pigs, so I've probably messed up in a few areas.

This is the cage I have:
http://www.petco.com/product/10638/Super-Pet-Extra-Large-My-First-Home.aspx

(However, I get paid today, and I plan on beginning the process of building a C&C cage so they have more room to run and play)

And no, it wasn't. I had cleaned the cage a couple days before she came in, and my oldest guinea pig, Feebee, had already been in there. Is it too late to clean it?

And what's a bonding bath? LOL. Sorry, I am so new at this. I have already given Keekee her first bath, because she smelled so much like a pet shop when I first got her (where she came from a breeder)
Click to expand...

hello, everytime I introduce guinea pigs together I do it in steps.
Firstly I introduce them to each other on fresh towels in there playpen so they have alot of room to move around and explore. I will keep a close eye on them and let them get to know each other until bed time...then I keep them in separate sleeping quarters until they have had a few more "bonding" days in the playpen. When I think they are ready I will wash out the home that they will all be sharing with vinegar to remove any odor then again with an organic shampoo to give a fresh baby smell. I use carefresh bedding throughout there home and when introducing them all for the first time in there home, it helps to change things around a bit (ie move there food and beds and potty around ect...) you can even dab a small amount of tea tree or lavender on the tips of there nose beforehand to mask there own smell...it makes hem less territorial. We have couches for them so everything inside that cage that is washable, should be washed to take away the smell.

If all else fails, you could try giving them a bath...I usually dont like doing this until I have handled them myself and they "know" me...that way they are more at ease in bath time and they then look forward to it.

Hope this has helped, good luck x
 
Okay! Where can you buy pet safe disinfectant? And what brand would you all recommend? As soon as my boyfriend gets home, I'll try the bonding bath and see if it works.

And no, they haven't drawn blood. ;)

I've been considering buying this cage off the Internet, because I'm afraid it might take me forever to build my own cage.

http://www.guineapigzone.com/c-and-c-cages-guinea-pigs/1-cac-cage-kits/6-jumbo-cac-cage-kit

^ With something like this, would I be able to expand it and add floors if I wanted to in the future?
 
You would indeed be able to expand and change, the same as with a home made C&C, all they are doing is selling you all of the bits all together rather than you sorcing them yourself. That would be an amazing amount of space for your lovely girls. :)

I would recomend you dont bath them untill you have the things for disinfecting the cage, because it would be best to put them straight from the bath to the cage (after they are dried ofc) if thats the method you are going for.

I'm really sorry i do not know what the brand are in the US, but pet safe disinfectants are usually sold in pet store. Another one you can use is diluted vinegar.
 
Another thing ive just thought of, is would it be possible for them to live in their play pen for a couple of days, untill you get the new cage sorted.

Obviously you would ahve to determine if this is possible, depending on where it is etc.
 
AnnieMarie said:
Okay! Where can you buy pet safe disinfectant? And what brand would you all recommend? As soon as my boyfriend gets home, I'll try the bonding bath and see if it works.

And no, they haven't drawn blood. ;)

I've been considering buying this cage off the Internet, because I'm afraid it might take me forever to build my own cage.

http://www.guineapigzone.com/c-and-c-cages-guinea-pigs/1-cac-cage-kits/6-jumbo-cac-cage-kit

^ With something like this, would I be able to expand it and add floors if I wanted to in the future?
Click to expand...

you can get white vinegar from the supermarket any brand will do and dillute about 1-2 capfuls in about 1.5 cups hot water...I just use an organic baby shampoo as my hot soapy water to do a double wash once ive done the vinegar...smells lovely and fresh for longer. We have a three story c&c cage (bottom level storage) my husband and I built it for them just before christmas...it still ended up costing us well over $100...they are not cheap but they are worthwhile when you see how happy your piggies are
 
Connie, I don't think it'd be possible for them to live in their playpen, because I'd be too afraid that they would climb out while I was sleeping at night. They haven't done climbed out before, however, Keekee was showing behavior as if she were trying to a couple nights ago. I'm hoping that the bars on the C&C cages are higher. I'm going to see if my grandmother will go ahead and order one tomorrow and let me pay her half of it now and half of it next week. I hope she does, because I really don't want to hold off until next Thursday to order it.

And "baby girls," thank you! And thank you, Connie, for the advice!

One more question...many of the items in their cage are things they can chew on, such as the hut and other things. Would it still be safe to disinfect it and them for them to chew on it?
 
I would not disinfect any wooden items, as your correct it would then be dangerous for them to chew on them, :)

If its not possible to get them the cage earlier, which i totally understand, i would give them as much time in the pen as possible per day so they are less likely to argue/fight. :)
 
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